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Item SH 850356
Bellows - Leather, circa 1900

Summary

Leather bellows circa 1900 used in a mental health hospital in Victoria Australia. Traditionally used to blow air in order to help ignite fires in fireplaces.

Physical Description

Bellows made of an orangey-brown leather and wood, with a rectangular handle at the base, and a `stepped', rounded square one attached to the top part of the bellows. A round wooden section is on top of the bellows. There is a hole near the side, and a short pipe protrudes nearby. There is also a larger hole in the centre, covered by a square wooden flap. The whole item is rough in texture. The leather is very stiff and coarse on the bellows, and very frayed and tattered around the circular upper wooden section.

Significance

Example of equipment used for the heating of mental health hospitals in Victoria Australia